Going Nuts?

Roast them…

Although nuts offer us Optimal Nutritional Value when eaten raw, and especially when we are Soaking these nuts overnight before ingestion, we do love roasted nuts!! Dry roasting them in a pan to sprinkle over salad or mixing it with honey for a delicious sweet treat is the quickest and simplest way.

When making nut butter, roasted nuts can also be prepared in 180-degree oven, for about 10 minutes or until they smell toasty.

Tips:

• A bonus trick is to blend nuts when they are still warm it offers a smoother spread.
• Don’t use pre salted nuts as these can be overwhelmingly salty when concentrated in nut butter.
• Make sure to remove the bitter papery skins from roasted hazelnuts and walnuts by rubbing them in a tea towel.

You can use a combination of different nuts in your spread and even add seeds for a more complex flavour profile. Cashews, for example, are mild in flavor. And now a great way to add sweeter and creamier notes to nut butter blends.

Grind them

Grinding nuts can be used in many ways as it becomes flour and can be used in baking, or a delicious alternative to crumbs or a sprinkle over a salad. I have used ground nuts in a stew to bring a thick and nutty deliciousness to the broth.

Adding ground nuts to nut butter makes the blending process easier. Once you added all your toasty goodness in a food processor and blending it, scrape down the sides of the bowl until the spread is as chunky or smooth as you wish and like. It may look like the nuts will go no further than a dry, crumbly mess, but be patient as the nuts are processed and they start to release their natural oils and emulsify to create a creamy texture. This can take anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes. To nudge the mixture into the right direction, add in a little non-neutral oil such as peanut oil, or any vegetable or seed oil you have readily available in your kitchen.

Make sauce

One of my family favorites is to add peanut butter to a salad dressing, I soak Kale leaves in overnight or just for as little as an hour before serving, always a winning treat.

Nut butters make delicious toppings, sauces, dips and dressings. Try it in meals such as stir fries. Asian inspired noodles. And satay Chicken. Cashew nut butter is great for salad dressings or creamy, saucy dishes like butter chicken.

Make Snacks galore!!

On the salty side you can make delicious Humus dip for veggies and salty biscuits.

On the sweeter side, drench waffle stacks with pancakes in cinnamon, almond butter and your own. Chocolate nut butter.

Make Nut butter..

Nut butters have seen a huge spike in popularity over the last few years, especially with the movement towards protein and plant-based foods. Make your own, it is so easy that you don’t even need a recipe. When making nut butters, there are almost no limits as you can add flavors galore. Get creative, and make delicious spreads. Examples are Maple and cinnamon Almond butter, Salted dark chocolate macadamia butter. Spicy cashew and pumpkin spice pecan nut butter. You can really start playing with sweet flavors, salty flavors. Add vanilla, cocoa powder, melted chocolate and spices. Think about cinnamon, cardamom, cayenne pepper. Although sweeteners like honey and syrup or sugar can be added, be careful as they can seize the mixture, try adding some more oil If this does happen, to loosen the mixture. For those of you who like living on the edge, whip out wild cards like citrus zest! or even sriracha. Enjoy. Play with your food. WANT A RECIPE?…

Bottle it up

Bottle your nut butter up and store it in clean jars in the fridge to prevent rancidity and the oil separation that occurs at room temperature. If splitting does occur. Mix it all back together again with a spoon, although you will probably Polish it all off in no time. Homemade nut butters will keep up to 3 months.

Create a delicious smoothie..

A smoothie or smoothy is a drink made by puréeing fruits and vegetables in a blender. A smoothie often has a liquid base such as fruit juice, or water or yoghurt.

Stir nut butter into your morning oats to make protein oats. You can also make protein packed energy balls and snack bars or supercharged nut butter smoothies.